When He Soothes Killers
by You Light The Sky
Summary: Tsuna lives in a house of hitmen and murderers, never turning away from their red tears and bitter laughs. (After all, isn't his fault they've stained their hands for him?) All27. Dark. Will be 10 chapters total.
1. First Death

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR. Otherwise it would have continued. Forever.

AN: I know what you're thinking... _another_ WIP? But this is a short WIP! Only 10 chapters guaranteed. Short drabbles whenever I can update. Angst and H/C all the way. Basically Tsuna comforting each guardian when they have a breakdown over killing people... oh dear...

**When He Soothes Killers**

**Part 1: First Death**

Nono dies. Assassination. Shot through the heart while he's having a nice breakfast, right in front of Tsuna's eyes.

He doesn't remember much about that day besides the sunshine making Nono's blood bright like rubies, spilling over his neatly cut eggs and toast, the old man's fluffy beard crushed against broken pieces of a teacup, his eyes so kind now stuck in perpetual glassy shock.

The birds kept up their musical trills. They refuse to look at the body, taking solace in the sky.

Not Tsuna though. Tsuna can't help but stare, feeling… feeling… (Numb, they call it later, shock, just shock at seeing someone so close die right then.)

The birds kept singing and Tsuna couldn't look away from the rubies falling on toasted bread.

* * *

There's no official ceremony. No warning whatsoever. At fifteen, Tsuna is bundled up into the throne of the Vongola family, far away from home. He's only glad that his friends are home in Japan and he hopes they stay there because to follow Tsuna now is to follow him into a mismatched world of murder dressed up in teacups and sophistication.

_Stay away_, he repeats the mantra like a prayer, a shrine blessing. _Please, please stay away_.

* * *

They don't. Of course they don't.


	2. Even Carnivores

Warning: Probably ooc behaviour from characters... oh well... explanations in later chapters hopefully for certain character reactions

I hope you enjoy it anyways!

**When He Soothes Killers**

**Part 2: Even Carnivores**

He doesn't remember much of that week. Reports, maybe. On finances. On weapon stock holds and new alliances, old alliances. Tsuna doesn't know. He skims them but doesn't sign them because even if he can barely remember how he got into this room from the breakfast table (and Nono's blank, glassy eyes), enough of him knows that he shouldn't sign anything he doesn't understand so he just sorts them. A stack on weapons. A stack on drugs. A stack on blood money.

Reborn is there, he thinks. Odd how there have been no bullets shot Tsuna's way but maybe there were and they were like ripples in the water, gone. He thinks he can recall Reborn leading him from room to room, murmuring to Tsuna in unusually soft tones with a solid hand on his back. Or maybe Tsuna dreamed that too.

Nono's guardians are always there, standing in front of the doors. Faces gaunt. Lines and wrinkles longer, as if they've been dug into by the desperate claws of wild animals. Shadows as they stare at Tsuna accusingly with their eyes.

_You shouldn't be here. You're just a boy._

Tsuna wants to laugh sometimes but he just doesn't have any energy to. Another shadow darts forward from the corner of his vision. Reborn, maybe. Snarling at Nono's guardians, then stalking back to Tsuna and gently pulling Tsuna up while still glowering at those who come near.

He doesn't remember what day it is anymore or if Reborn has let go of his back yet.

Then he hears them. A cacophony of gentle and boisterous chatter, a mix of silent irritation and anxiety. If he closes his eyes, he can even see Nana's kitchen and everyone gathered round to eat her oden but—wait, what?!

Tsuna nearly trips over his own feet as he catches a glimpse of their faces from around the corner before he hides behind the wall, staring at a smirking Reborn.

Stupid Reborn, who has been growing quickly at alarmingly fast rates since the curse has been broken. The stupid hitman is now half an inch taller than Tsuna and looks as irritatingly confident as ever.

"What are they doing here?!" Tsuna hisses.

"They're your guardians," Reborn reminds him. "They _have_ to be here to protect the Decimo when the Vongola line is being so obviously threatened."

"I told you not to bring them here! They can't be involved in this, people have _died!_"

Reborn just arches an eyebrow.

"I can't…" he sees dots of red on white tea cups and cracked plates and this time it's Gokudera there with glassy eyes and Yamamoto is on the ground and Lambo is—"I can't… no, we have to get them to leave, it's not too late for them…"

"Tsuna? _Tsuna_," his name comes again, urgent, pressing. Has Reborn done this before? It feels like déjà vu and—"Tsuna, you idiot, if you fall into a practically catatonic state again then I will have called your little _famiglia _here for nothing!"

His head snaps up.

"_What?!_"

Reborn just gives him the _look_, one that he's only ever given to Tsuna. Mixed with exasperation and worry and this overwhelming accompanying shininess that Tsuna hasn't dared to dissect yet—

"You need your _famiglia_ here to keep you sane. It's been two weeks and you haven't spoken once to me. Not until they came."

"But—"

"You need them, Tsuna, or so help me, I'll start shooting people. _Innocent _people," he adds, just to be a prick.

Tsuna opens his mouth to berate Reborn, call him names and then slumps down, realizing that he can't recall the last time he argued with his tutor at all.

"…But I… I just don't want…"

"Idiot," Reborn says softly and flicks Tsuna's nose. "They'll just be here to investigate Nono's assassination with you and Nono's guardians. If you like, they don't have to swear loyalty to you yet. It'll be a… trial run, if you would. If, when we find the bastards who killed Nono, your guardians feel this life is too much, they can just… walk away. If they feel they want to stay, then they'll swear their loyalty to you once you're officially crowned Decimo. Sound fair?"

At first, no words pass by Tsuna's lips. He stares at Reborn, feeling twisted up, back in that limbo he lived in after Nono died. But he sees tiny specks of dust on Reborn's usually immaculate black suits and his intuition tells him that the smudges on his tutor's face hide tired eyes.

Hitmen don't compromise. Not Reborn anyways. And Tsuna has always been stupidly cowardly and selfish.

"…Okay…" he says quietly.

They shake on it.

* * *

When Tsuna greets his guardians, he does so with a smile and welcomes their hugs. He locks up his grief deep inside where no one can see unless they tear apart the shackles of his face.

After all, the Vongola Decimo isn't allowed to cry for himself.

* * *

Gokudera's cries of 'Tenth' and his habit of berating anyone who upsets Tsuna are welcome music to Tsuna's ears, as is Yamamoto's smiling face and Lambo jumping into Tsuna's arms to complain about how Hibari bullies him. Ryohei swings an arm to ruffle Tsuna's hair while Chrome blushes and bows as Mukuro stands to the side, pretending not to care about anyone (his henchmen were left behind in Japan to watch his 'affairs' which always makes Tsuna want to shiver in fear.)

The girls and other kids are home (safe) because Reborn warned of danger but otherwise—

"We came as soon as we could," Yamamoto grins though his stance speaks a different story. "Wouldn't want to miss the fun."

"Dude, Italy is so extreme! I've been taking so many pictures for Kyoko-chan and Hana," Ryohei pulls out his camera, "I've already got like over a hundred and fifty of them!"

"Oooo! Lambo wants to see!"

"Idiots, we've got more important things to do! Like writing up a schedule to guard Tenth!"

Their chatter is so welcome that Tsuna feels himself tear up before he quickly wipes his sleeve, keeping his smile in place. He watches Hibari rolls his eyes and mutter about crowding while Chrome smiles fondly at all the chaos and Mukuro looks bored out of his mind.

For a moment, Tsuna can pretend that nothing will change.

* * *

The attacks begin. Almost like the assassins that killed Nono were just waiting for Tsuna's guardians to come. At night, glass shatters and Tsuna only narrowly dodges several rounds of AK-47 shots because he can't sleep. He can't remember the last time he could. Maybe he did when he was walking around all numb for two weeks and maybe he didn't.

Lucky that tonight he didn't.

Lambo cries out against Tsuna's chest, having slept with him, insisting that he would protect Tsuna from the monsters. He wants to fight. He wants Maman. Tsuna just hides Lambo against his chest and refuses to let one bullet scratch his kid.

One guy nearly shoots out Tsuna's ear, but Tsuna manages to maneuver out of the way and knock the guy out cold onto the ground before he looks for an escape route. The guy's body lies bloodied on the ground but still breathes so Tsuna counts that as a win for now.

His flames burst out, brighter than any of Gokudera's bombs, as Tsuna flees out the window to the night sky. If anything, no one will have a height advantage on him unless they use Dying Will Flames too but these assassins seem more textbook. Guns. Guns. Guns shot everywhere.

He hears shouting. Gokudera and Ryohei, rushing through their doors. A blue explosion in the room left to Tsuna's show Yamamoto pulling out his swords. No, Tsuna can't let them confront the assassins, what if…?

But then there's another blast. Several other shots, none of them aimed at Tsuna. He hears more shouts. People crying out his name maybe. Dark splatters against the window. No, no, please—

By the time Tsuna rushes back to his room, he sees the bodies on the floor.

He sees Hibari in blood stained pyjamas, his black disciplinary coat still hanging off his shoulders as an odd security blanket. He sees Hibari's tonfas drenched in crimson and the cold way Hibari regards the corpses on the floor.

He sees Gokudera and Ryohei stop in the door way, staring at Hibari in shock.

No one moves. No one dares to spoil this macabre painting of blood and ancient Renaissance architecture. As if they'll shatter the canvas.

Tsuna has no care for canvases.

"Hibari-sempai, are you alright?!" he rushes to him but Hibari just steps out of Tsuna's way, flicking the blood off his tonfas without any change to the blank expression on his face.

Gokudera and Ryohei still stand frozen in the doorway and when Hibari turns to look at them, they flinch.

Hibari just walks past them, as if he was never dipped in red at all.

* * *

No one lets Tsuna or Lambo sleep in that room after that. 'It's fine,' Tsuna tells them, though he can tell that most of their faces spell 'bullshit' when he tries to smile at them. He doesn't need to sleep tonight anyways, he insists and with much debate, only lets Reborn stay with him for protection.

He spends the night, huddled up with Lambo in the sitting room while Reborn guards them from the other armchair. In the morning, he finds Yamamoto slumped over his sword, just about to doze off as he guards the door and he can't help but gently nudge his friend awake.

Gokudera and Ryohei are nowhere to be seen.

Chrome and Mukuro, Tsuna doesn't worry about, since they're known to disappear randomly together if the Kokuyo gang or Kyoko and Haru are not around. But Gokudera and Ryohei are late to breakfast, twin baggy eyes each like mud has been smeared over each of them and Tsuna can't help but be (selfishly) relieved that they're still here.

Tsuna opens his mouth, to try and cheer them up (but how?) when Hibari strolls in and makes himself some tea, looking as pristine as ever. Gokudera and Ryohei stiffen, watching Hibari carefully in a way that makes Tsuna's skin feel prickled by thousands of needles.

But Hibari gives that same blank glance from last night as he waits for his tea to steep.

Only Yamamoto and Lambo's random conversation about pancakes fills the stifling silence, a silence Tsuna feels convinced will come alive and choke them all if they don't just _say_ something already. But no, neither Gokudera nor Ryohei say anything to Hibari. They only watch him as one would watch a predator and the only difference between how they watch Hibari now and how they used to watch him is the wariness. The way they position themselves, ready to attack as if they think Hibari will—

Hibari gets up and pours his tea. Sips it. Then he takes his cup and he leaves without looking back.

"What's wrong?" Tsuna blurts out.

Gokudera and Ryohei nearly jump back in shock with cries of "Tenth?" and "Sawada!"

"W-why are you… W-why are you l-looking at H-Hibari-san like…" _like you think he'll attack you._

Both of them stiffen. Maybe they can hear his unspoken words and Gokudera just shakes his head, "It's not that, Tenth. I just don't like that guy. I never did..."

"He fights like a wild thing," Ryohei nods and Tsuna feels something in him tremble.

They've been afraid of Hibari before. They all have. No one likes being beaten up with tonfas. But Hibari's never _killed _anyone before. Not in front of them. Even Tsuna can't help but remember rubies and teacups and Nono and chattering birds but this is _Hibari_. He's a prefect who only cares about little animals and Namimori and discipline and strict rigid rules and tea and—

"He's not a killer," Tsuna finds himself saying.

But who is he kidding? They're all going to become killers. Still, when Gokudera and Ryohei pause in their rambling excuses, Tsuna repeats it again, louder, because it has to be true. It is. He can feel it.

He looks both Gokudera and Ryohei calmly in the eye and says, "Hibari's not a killer."

He goes to look for Hibari.

* * *

Over the years his intuition has sharpened quite a bit. When Tsuna wants to, he can open his senses and track down where his guardians are by the feel of their flames alone. Yamamoto is cool and calm, completely contradictory for a flame, but ready to burn in cold calculated will. Gokudera is always wild and uncontained yet calm and excited whenever he's around Tsuna. Ryohei is warmer than all of them, a healer, always so optimistic while little Lambo is all over the place, a firecracker learning to sharpen himself into a lightning bolt and Chrome is a simmering presence of affection and shy embers. Mukuro is her opposite, practically cold but ready to swallow an enemy up into ash.

And Hibari always feels like a suppressed volcano wrapped up in cool water vapours. The hardest to track. The ghost of flames burnt out, ready to come back at any moment and burn you too.

But Tsuna tracks him down eventually, in the courtyard with his Hibird, looking up at the sky.

"Um… Hibari…?"

Hibari doesn't move from his spot, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. He could be practically asleep if it weren't for the twitch of his mouth.

"What do you want, little bird?"

Right. Talking. Tsuna shrugs. "I guess I wanted to know how you were doing."

Hibari just keeps looking at the sky which usually translates to _say what you will, mortal _or something like that. Tsuna can't usually tell even though he's the one who spends the most time with Hibari in their group.

Ever since the Acrobaleno curse was broken, Hibari has taken to ambushing him on his way home from school for fights. Most of the time Hibari wins but on rare occasions Tsuna somehow wins too. Except when Tsuna wins he feels so guilty about it he gives Hibari a cake or some sweets the next day as a peace offering. Tsuna also likes to feed bird food to Hibird from time to time and he gets random presents for all his guardians, little stickers or knick knacks they might like. Generally Tsuna's too embarrassed to give Hibari anything face to face so he'll leave cute stickers of bunny rabbits or chicks at the door to the Disciplinary Committee. But that's it.

But no matter how, well, _Hibari_ he seems right now, Tsuna can't help but think there's something wrong.

"Um, Gokudera-kun and Onii-san didn't mean to stare… I mean, it's not like they don't trust you! It was just, really scary to see…" _redteacupschinaNono_, "all of that…"

"What does it matter to me what those herbivores say?"

The question feels like a barrage of Reborn's Dying Will bullets, all crammed into Tsuna's throat. He swallows.

"…Well they're your friends," Tsuna frowns. "Even if they're not acting like it right now."

Hibari gives a small 'tch'.

"Oh, unless you don't consider us… um, I wasn't trying to be rude, I was just, I mean, we consider you our friend even if you don't, uh, necessarily—"

"Little bird," Hibari snaps.

"Ah, um, yes?"

"Fight me."

Tsuna just barely dodges the sudden sweep of tonfas to his shoulder and before he knows it, orange engulfs his face and hair as he flips back and returns to that well-practiced dance of fists and kicks with Hibari. His questions scatter into little feathers, forgotten in the breeze, as Tsuna struggles to keep up with Hibari and that's how he spends the rest of his morning.

Sometimes Tsuna thinks that Hibari only comes alive when he fights, rather like Ryohei, except Hibari's enjoyment is a sharp, clawed thing. His eyes glint like one of Yamamoto's katanas, cutting and thirsty for a challenging opponent. His love of fighting only rivals his love of order and it's easy, Tsuna supposes, to see how people could think Hibari as simply unfeeling, a devil, the first one in their family who would become cold to murder.

But Tsuna recalls the day that he beat Hibari, a swift kick to the chest with Tsuna about to move back only for Hibari to collapse. Tsuna remembers shaking Hibari by the shoulders, panicking and looking for his first aid kit (something that Tsuna took to carrying around after the whole Acrobaleno fiasco… honestly the number of times his _famiglia _has been attacked is enough to give Tsuna a permanent case of heart problems.) Until Hibari grabbed Tsuna's arm… and he _smiled_.

Besides the whole thing with Enma and Shimon, Tsuna doesn't think he's ever seen Hibari smile at him before. Sure, Hibari has his scary I'm-going-to-bite-you smile and the serene smile for little animals like Hibird and his porcupine. He never smiles at other people without a threatening air to it.

Except then.

Ever since, Hibari's taken to calling Tsuna, "Little bird" without telling him why and Tsuna feels that Hibari doesn't just tolerate him anymore.

Today, though, after the assassins and the corpses and bloodstained tonfas, Tsuna doesn't know anymore.

_My fault_, he thinks, and Hibari's kick sends him spiraling towards the ground.

He's wiping blood from his nose, telling Hibari that it's fine, he can go another round when Hibari says, "Kyouya."

"Wha—"

"That is my name."

"Oh! But…" he's never felt comfortable with calling any of his friends by their first name. It feels disrespectful, especially when Tsuna can't ever compare to how amazing they all are. The only reason he calls Ryohei 'Onii-san' was because of his former crush on Kyoko and even then…

Hibari glares.

"Well… alright, Kyouya-san…"

As expected, the taste of his first name is alien to Tsuna and feels not-quite-right but not-quite-wrong either.

Hibar—_Kyouya_ huffs. "Good enough," he says before he goes back to staring at the sky.

Tsuna hesitates. He's not quite dismissed but he doesn't know if he's still welcome. After all, Tsuna can't shake the feeling that something is still wrong, still bothering Hib—_Kyouya_ even after their fight. He stays, quiet and unsure. But he stays.

Yet the faint smile that Kyouya gives him when it's time for dinner makes Tsuna almost believe that things will be alright.

* * *

He's wrong.

* * *

Reborn pulls Tsuna into another room to discuss the assassination attempts and orders that at least one guardian (not counting Lambo because of his age) has to be with Tsuna at all times until they find the killers. Reborn lists off names of potential enemies, all the people that Nono upset in his life. Tsuna feels like his head might spin from all the Italian and struggles to commit these names to memory.

(Just how did Nono upset them? Just what sins did he have hiding under his grandfatherly smile?)

"There's a mole in the Vongola, that's the only reason these bastards gave me the slip," _again_, Reborn doesn't add. There's a script for murder in his eyes. No one escapes the world's greatest hitman. Tsuna's starting to wonder if that's just a title that Reborn gave himself.

"…So what do we do?" Tsuna wonders. "We can't just let them come and attack again."

He doesn't know the people here in Italy that well. Only the CEDEF and he hears that their members were gunned down the night before too and what remains of them have been working on and off the clock to find justice. His father, Lal and Basil are still alive (thank the heavens) but it's been chaos trying to regain order. God knows what the Varia are doing either. He's heard nothing from Xanxus (and the man's probably celebrating the possible death of his rival so never mind…) He doesn't know who to trust here but his guardians and Reborn.

Reborn gives a speculative glance at Tsuna.

"…What do you think?"

"I… I think that our best chance of finding out who they are is to… to let them attack me again…" Reborn's grip tightens on Tsuna's shoulder, but Tsuna keeps going, "they have to think that I'm defenseless, Reborn! So that we can capture them alive and interrogate them… I… I don't want any more people to get hurt…"

Reborn doesn't say anything, his lips tightly strung across his jaw.

"…Not a bad plan," he says softly.

"You'd be there," Tsuna ducks his head. "I trust you."

Reborn just stares and shakes his head.

They don't tell his guardians about the plan. Tsuna still wants them to walk away. Hopes.

(A selfish part of him whispers that they'll find out soon enough.)

* * *

The selfish part is right. Somehow the assassins attack again before he and Reborn can use their plan and Tsuna doesn't know _how_ they got into the mansion. His guardians are practically sleeping at the perimeters of the mansion and Tsuna's room, Nono's guardians should be patrolling the hallways and Reborn took the rooftop so _how, _just _how how how—_

Tsuna jumps away from a torrent of firepower, uses his own flames to blast away intruders. He gathers Lambo up in his arms and searches for a safe place to hide his kid, all while Lambo insists that he's old enough to fight too (he's not, damn it, over Tsuna's dead body…!) Gokudera manages to find him in the chaos, shouting for Tsuna to stay close so that he can protect them both.

But there are just so many men and only so much damage one can do without killing them. Tsuna's shouting at his guardians to incapacitate, not kill. They need these assassins alive and Tsuna doesn't think he'll be able to stand another image of blood-stained tonfas and accusing gazes cutting apart his fragile little _famiglia_, no, please…

In the fighting, Tsuna can sense the others. Yamamoto taking down three attacks with the blunt end of his swords. Ryohei knocking out two heads by smashing them together. Chrome and Mukuro rushing out towards the perimeter to knock the rest of the attackers out with some good old illusions. Chrome (wonderful Chrome) whispering to Mukuro's bloodthirsty side to leave the intruders for Reborn to interrogate later.

And Hib—Kyouya is as ruthless as ever, except he beats his opponents until they can't move but at least they're still breathing…

Someone shouts at Tsuna to move and he does. The fighting continues.

He's stuck in that numb state where he can't think, only dodge and punch and kick and send his flames out. Like when he fights Kyouya. Except there's no amusement in these people's eyes. They only want to kill.

"Decimo!" one of them shouts, when it seems that his famiglia have beaten almost all the attackers, "Do you think your pathetic little friends can protect you forever? We'll find you. We'll never stop coming until your family is dead—"

A sickening crack cuts off the man's speech, as Kyouya pulls his tonfas in again for another hit. And another. And another until…

"Kyouya-san, stop!" Tsuna shouts.

His tonfas pause in mid-air. Kyouya lets the man's body fall. He sweeps out of the room once more, without a word to Gokudera and Ryohei's stunned silences.

Without realizing it, Tsuna passes Lambo to Gokudera and gives chase.

* * *

"Hib—_Kyouya-san!_"

"Leave me be, little bird."

"W-wait!"

Tsuna nearly slams into Kyouya's back but Kyouya whirls around to hiss. "I didn't kill him."

"What…?" Tsuna blinks before he shakes his head, "I know you didn't. I just wanted to see if you're okay. You—"

"I'm fine."

"But—"

"I'm _fine_," he bristles.

He pushes Tsuna away and then he's gone into the next room.

* * *

No one is very happy with having so many assassins captured within the Vongola headquarters. But then, of course, each assassin wakes and takes a cyanide pill before anyone can stop them.

Yamamoto is unusually prickly towards Lambo when Lambo tries to ask for any candy. Gokudera won't stop stalking the hallways and snarling at the servants. Ryohei won't leave the gym, where he punches until his hands bleed. Chrome disappears with Mukuro and if more bodies turn up in the news later, bruised beyond recognition, no one accuses them. Reborn goes to shout at the CEDEF and Varia.

None of them want to leave Tsuna alone until Tsuna insists that Kyouya will be accompanying him today. Somehow, from the scowls on Gokudera and Ryohei's faces and the sharp laugh Yamamoto gives, Tsuna begins to fear that his famiglia is becoming broken.

At least Chrome, Mukuro and Lambo don't seem bothered by the Kyouya issue. Reborn just raises an eyebrow and says nothing.

After all, Tsuna has to confront Kyouya about this sometime.

* * *

He's back in the courtyard. This time, he's tearing a stone column to shreds with his tonfas. Hibird flies in circles up above, cheeping in concern that Kyouya can't hear.

Tsuna's throat practically swells up painfully at the sight of his Cloud Guardian lashing out and telling Hibird to shut up. It's only when Tsuna walks up to him, that Kyouya stops, twisting towards Tsuna with a wildness that wants to crush him too.

"_What_?"

Tsuna looks at Kyouya's hands. The tonfas there quiver, wishing for more blood, more rubble to destroy. He looks at Kyouya's eyes and he wishes that he could go back in time and stop himself from ever meeting any of his famiglia. Maybe then they wouldn't be here. Maybe then they'd live in, say, Namimori, keeping the peace, ignorant of Tsuna's tangles with the Vongola.

For a while, Tsuna only sees the tonfas. But he sees Kyouya's hands too. They tremble. Ever minutely. They tremble too.

Tsuna looks back at Kyouya and says, "Fight me."

Kyouya's eyes widen.

He strikes.

His kicks hit Tsuna every time. So do his tonfas and Kyouya snarls with frustration, "Fight back!"

But Tsuna shakes his head.

Another kick. The tonfas barely scratch the surface of Tsuna's face as Kyouya switches to his fists and punches him in the shoulder. "What are you doing?" he demands. "You said you'd fight me. _Fight back_, little bird, _fight me_."

Tsuna scarcely has a chance to spit out the blood gathered in his mouth before Kyouya punches him again. But each time, Tsuna murmurs, 'no' and shakes his head.

"Why," Kyouya demands. "Why won't you _fight me_, little bird, just _fight me!_"

The wildness in his movements, the startling cheeping of Hibird, all mix together until Tsuna hears 'acknowledge me' instead of 'fight me' and things start clicking into place.

"…I can't," he admits quietly, leaning against the wall. "You… you're hurting… and I don't know how to fix it… but if you can feel better by punching me… than…"

The next blow makes Tsuna flinch but the pain doesn't come.

Instead he feels a soft touch at his shirt and when he opens his eyes, he sees Kyouya's head bowed down, Kyouya's hands balled up into fists against Tsuna's shirt.

"…They were going to kill you," comes the unexpected whisper. Tsuna nearly falls over at the unexpected sentiment.

Still, Kyouya keeps his head bowed down. His dark bangs hide his face and Tsuna can't move.

"I saw the body on the ground," Kyouya's breaths touch Tsuna's waist, "and I thought they had done the impossible and so I disposed of them."

His fists tighten into the fabric of Tsuna's worn shirt, loosening the threads.

"…But I wasn't dead," Tsuna realizes, remembering the blank look in Kyouya's eyes, remembering the guy Tsuna punched and left on the ground, remembering how dark it was and how he just wanted to get out, get out, with Lambo and find somewhere safe to regroup.

Kyouya's fists don't move.

"I'm sorry," Tsuna chokes up, putting his hands in Kyouya's hair, bringing him closer. He doesn't care if Kyouya will beat him up later for this. The guy needs a hug. He needs an apology and so much more. "I'm so so sorry. Kyouya—"

"Don't you _dare_ apologize like a weak herbivore, little bird," Kyouya hisses, clutching at Tsuna tighter. "You… You are the only one I will ever acknowledge as my equal and if you die…"

"I'm sorry," he says again because he won't make promises he can't keep. He won't be like the future-Tsuna who lied about death to his own famiglia, even if it was to save them. He's not that far gone yet. All he can say is sorry.

_I did this to you_, he wants to cry. He's never seen Kyouya Hibari like this before, unhinged and unexpectedly vulnerable. The man who soothes little animals and insists that he's a carnivore. The man who only communicates with fighting and doesn't know how to socialize like a normal person (insisting that he can't stand crowding when he really he just—)

Tsuna buries his nose in Kyouya's hair. How can Tsuna possibly pay for this?

He doesn't let go. Not for the rest of the afternoon. Even when his conscience screams that he should before it's too late.

* * *

Next time: Gokudera's chapter, more sort-of plot

Also if you're interested, I have cover art for this fic posted on my profile, thanks for reading!


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